Wednesday, 22 June 2016

Medieval finger-counting on the BBC

Yesterday I had an opportunity to present some medieval science on the BBC. I had been asked to contribute to "Free Thinking" on Radio 3. The theme of the programme was "Hands", so I decided to fill my allocated 4 minutes by talking about early medieval finger-counting.

You can listen to the full programme here - my short essay and interview start at 22 minutes. (You can also download Free Thinking as a podcast on iTunes.)

I also recorded this spur-of-the-moment clip, showing some numbers on my fingers. A bit clumsy, but I only got one try at it!

If you want to read some more about finger-counting and hand-diagrams in the Middle Ages, I recommend this blog post by Irene O'Daly. You can also read Bede's The Reckoning of Time in a great edition by Faith Wallis.

About Me

My name is Seb Falk. I'm a medieval historian and historian of science. I'm also a sailor, singer, marathon-runner and dog-lover.

My research centres on the sciences practised by monks and scholars in the later Middle Ages - and especially their scientific instruments. I am also very interested in the ways history is presented to the public (e.g. in museums) and taught in schools.

In 2016-17 I am one of the BBC's New Generation Thinkers, and will be explaining my research in several programmes on Radio 3.